CIVIL LIBERTIES have just returned from my holiday and picked
up my copies of the Spectator and have read the letter from Mr. J. B. Parker.
He accuses the NCCL of being selective. I would suggest that he is even more selective. He has made no mention of what has been our main work over the last ten years, viz. the campaign for a public inquiry into the working of the Mental Deficiency Acts. Indeed, in one of the Annual Reports to which he refers pride of place was given to a successful ap- plication for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a girl held in an institution under these Acts. This action had no political significance whatsoever and the girl whom we succeeded in freeing was unknown. Nevertheless, her civil liberties were as important as those of any public figure and as your corre- spondent rightly says, freedom is one and indivisible. We do what we can with the forces at our disposal and certainly never discriminate politically between one case and another. We would never claim to have a monopoly in the defence of civil liberty and we always rejoice when we learn of others who are also participating in the fight to defend civil liberties in this country.—Yours faithfully, ELIZABETH A. ALLEN General Secretary The National Council for Civil Liberties.
46 Westbourne Grove, W2
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